I had this buried amongst the samples (and I am finding the time to tackle the backlog). Perfect evening for a Campletown whisky. Will this be good being a work in progress or a botched experiment? Only one way to know. Oh! the pains we must endure for the greater good. After an initial alcohol blast, the nose slowly settles in revealing vanilla cream soda and cherry pie. Though those two aromas are inviting and rich, any other aroma is difficult to discern. Being patient, the candy with juice (I had to lookup what they are called: Nik-L-Lips) are sensed along with apples, pears, apricots and honeysuckle. Viscous and dense, the arrival is surprisingly sweet; candy-like. Salted caramel, milk chocolate, dark chocolate. Prickly as it settles on the palate with fresh ginger root and wood spices rides and fades to the finish. Water only sweetens the whisky making it almost too sweet. It’s natural state provides for a better balanced dram. A slightly woody and dry palate remains with hints of char, white pepper and unsweetened dark chocolate. My second Kilkerran thus far. The 12 year was fantastic. This WIP is a respectable pour. I would drink this repeatedly and with gusto. What holds it back from being a breakout star is that the spotlight is centered on sweetness and does not have a supporting cast. Depth of flavors would push this over to a higher level. Comparatively, to me, this is a borderline Irish whiskey closer to Green Spot, which makes sense given its proximity. Though it may sound overly critical, that is only that it holds potential to become a greater whisky. Hence, I surmise, a Work In Progress. Thanks @Telex for the sample from ages back. [88/100][Tasted: 6/24/22]